Bowling-alley.



,4 Patented ldne 27, |899. G. W. WEMPLE. BowLlNG ALLEY.

[Applicationrled Nov. 14, 1898..

4 ySheets-Sheet l.

No Model.) v

George WWmpLe,

Wnesses:

No. 627,7!2. Ptented l'une 27;l |899. G. W. WEMPLE.

BOWLING ALLEY.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1898.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

(N0 Modem.

nv MNA-w L /o... "i n e L ....4 IJ f/ A, Y HN N m. z Y w Q. S.

" NITED STATES.-

.PATENT OFFICE.,

4encuen W. WEMPLE, oF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOWLING-ALLEY.

srncirrcaron forming pm of 'Letteisat'ent Noyes?, 712, dated June 2r,189e.

i Application llledNovemher 14, 1898. Serial No. 696,405. (No model.)

T0 {LIZ-whom, it may concern,.- Beit known that I, GEORGE W. WEMPLE,

.f vof Boston, in'the county of Sutfolkand State y novel features ofconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will bereadily understood by reference to the description of the accompanyingdrawings and to the claims hereto appended and in which y my inventionis clearly pointed out.

depressed positions with a portion of the cover of the said frameremoved. Fig. 2 is a sec; tional elevation of the same, except that allthe pins are standing, the cutting-plane being on line 2 2 on Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is aside elevation with all the pins standing. Eig. 4 is asection on line 3 31011 Figfl, looking toward the left of Fig. l. Fig. 5is a section on line 4 4 on Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a, section on line-5 5 onFig. 1, looking toward theleft of saidgfigure. Fig. 7 is a section online 6 6 on Fig. l,

- looking toward thev left of said igure; and

Fig. 8 is a partial section on line 7 7 on Fig. 1. 'In the drawings, Ais the alley proper, B

- I the glitters on each side of the alley, and H the partition-boardsbetween two adjacent alleys, all of well-known construction. v

'D is an abutment extending transversely across the rear end of thevalley and gutters and has setin or secured to its front side elasalleyA and gutters B, the bottom of which is slightly downwardly inclinedfrom the front toward the rear, and at a distance above the uppersurface of said alley, at its lowest part, somewhat greater than thediameter of the ball to be used, which may be larger or smaller, but afour-and-onehalf-inch ball is preferable. The chamber of said frameisdivided into a series of compartments E', E2,

E9, E4, E5, E", E7, E, and E9 by vertical partitions d, d", d2, d3, d4,d5, d, and 017, as shown in Fig. 1. In suitable bearings in saidpartitions is mounted a rod e, which extends through all of saidpartitions and has mounted thereon the pins e', e2, e3, and e4 and theshort levers j', f', and f2, all so arranged as to be independentlymovable about said rod. Another rod g extends through` the partitionsd', d2, d3, d4, d5, and d and has mounted thereon the pins ei, e6, ande7, and a rod g' is mounted in bearings in the partitions d2, d3, d, anddi and has mountedthereon the pins eB Yand eggand a rod g2, mounted inbearings in the partitions d3 and d, has mounted thereon the pin el".4

The pin e5 is connected at lever y",and in like manner the pins e6 ande'r /are connected-to the dummy levers f' and f2,

respectively.

.The pins e2 and e8 have their lower ends connected together -by thelink h', and the pin cwhas set in its lower end a stud i, which `itslower end the links h'to the lower end of the dummy' projects laterallytherefrom through the curved slot t' in the partition cis and hasconpins e2 and es, so that they must both fall together.

F is arod extending transversely throughV l all of the partitions from dto (i2-upon which is mounted, so as to be freely movable about its axis,a-series of trip-levers F' corresponding in number to the number of thecompartments E1 to Es and arranged normally in an K inclined position,with their rear ends pro# jecting below the bottom ot the said frame inpositions to be struck bythe ball when rolled beneath. them', and thuscausesaid rear endstdbe ,raised and act upon one of the reo pins tecans-ea er it, with others, .to fan into x each other when the xo'. thepins e', c2, e3, anche4 and the short levers or dummies'jlf', andf2 havesecured to the front sides of their lower arms the rearwardlycurvedspringsj', the convex sides of said springs jland j' being in nearproximity to pins are set up, so that when the ball is rolled beneathany one ot' the said trip-levers and lifts its rear end the spring j,acting upon the spring j' with a yielding pressure, lmoves the pin towhich said zospring j is secured about the rod e and causes it to falltoward the front into the inclined position shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and7. G is a rocker-shaft mounted in bearings in the partitions dto di andhaving;

ends of which carryf the rod la, which when raised by a partial rotationof the shaft G acts upon the pins e", e2, c3, and r4 and the dummies ff,f,` and f2 to raise them, and through them 3o all the other pins, intoa standing position slightly inclined toward the rear from aperpendicular, in which positions said pins and levers abut against therear ends of the slots in the topcovering l of said frame E,as shown 354,in Figs. 4, 5, and 15.

j The rocker-shaft il has secured to one end` `thereof the lever G', tothe movable end of which is connected oneend of theceiled spring G2, theother end of which is con 4o nected to the cord or chain G3, whichpasses 45 the gutter B, as shown in Fig. 3.

The lever il; has" a short arm 701,. to the free end of vwhich ispivoted one endet the link l, .the opposite end of which is pivoted tothe movable end of the arm l', rmly secured to 5o the end ot" therockerfshaft I?, mounted in suitable bearings in 4said partitions d toZ7 and having set in or securedto its upper side as many trip-arms Z3 as,there are compartments between the partitions 1.! and (ZT.

A rod 'm extends through `the partitions d `to (i7 and .has suspendedtherefrom in each' Acompartment 'Eico Es a locking-plate m', the lowerend of which is pressed toward the rear by the spring m2, set in the rodm3, so that 6o when the i'ront end of a trip-lever I1" is de- 4pressedby the bail coming in contact with its rear padded end the lower end ofthe plato m is moved over the front end of said tripleyer' and locks itin said depressed. posi- `tivi-5 'tion,in which position said partsremain until the rod k3 is again raised to set up the pins by theoperation oi' the handdcver G, when position shown vin the lefi'tpor-'Vlirml y Se-A 25 cured thereon the arms fc, 7c', and k2, the free thetrip-arm Z3 moves the lower end of the plate m' toward the front andreleases the tri p-lever F.

The partitions d to d7 have slots n formed inl their upper edges, in thebottoms of which the rod k3 rests when in its normal position, and thecoverIof the said frame E is slotted to allow the upward passage of saidrod 1.13 when it is desired to raise or set up the pins.

J is an elbow-lever fulcrumed at the end of its horizontal arm withinthe comparment E5,

. with its other arm projecting upward to the 4upper side of the cover Iof the structural frame E and having secured therein at its bend the rodJ', which extends through slots .l2 in the partitions d to d? and isconnected at its ends to the front ends of the levers J, lirmly securednear the middle of their lengths .upon the rocker-shaft K, the rear armsof said levers J being weighted to counterbalance saide rod J', so as tonormally maintain said rod in its raised position, as shown in Figs. 4,5, 6, and 7. The lower ends of the pin cd and the short dummylever f'being connected together by the links h3, as set forth, when the ballstrikes the trip-lever F' in the cc1npartment E5 the upward movementof'its rear end causes the spring j thereon to act upon the spring itand the pin e to i'all, and the heavypin e, the upper end of which isweighted with load o, falling upon the ripper end of the bent lever J,depresses the rod J' and the front ends ot' all of the trip-levers F',thereby causing all of the pins to fall and producing a ten strike. Inlike manner the pins el and e7 be, ing respectively connected bylinks hto the dummy levcrsfandffi, and there being just above the levers li" inthe compartments E3 and ET the pivoted levers or plates L,`hav ing set ntheir front ends the horizontal rods p, which project therefrom throughslots vp' in the partitions separating saidcomparu ments f'roin'thoseupon each side thereof and over the trip-levers F' in said contiguouscompartments, it the ball is rolled so as to come in Contact with thetrip-lever F' in the compartment .E3 and cause the pin to fall itstrikes upon the arm L', projecting upward from the pi voted plate Landde presses the forward end tl1ereoi`,cansng it to engage the tripleverbeneath it and the rod .7. to engage the trip-levers in the compartmentsE?? and E4, depressing said three triplevcrs and insuring the fallingot' the five pins e', c2, e, e, and c', and ii' the ball strikes thetripdcver F', that is located in the compartment E?, the four pins e,e4, e7, and e will fall. If the ball is so rolled as to strike only thetrip-lever F' located in the compartment EL er E only one pin will fall,or if the ball is so rolled as to strike only the tripdever F' locatedin the compartment E orE4 two' or three pins, respectively, will fall.lf, however, the ball is so rolled as to come in contact with the twotriplevers ll" located in the compartments E3 and E4 five pins wiilfall, and it the ball is so rolled as' to Contact y" on the dummy lcverfto cause IIC with the tw'o trip-levers located in the compartments E andE7 or E7 and Es four pins will fall.

' L Mis a wooden rod or bar extending through,

5 the several compartments E to E8 and has secured thereon in eachcompartment a cushion 'r of felt to limit the upward movements f therear ends of the trip-levers F and diminish the shock of the blowthereof. A felt .ro cushion lr is also provided beneath the front mfendof Yeach trip-lever F', as shown in Figs.

4, 5, and 6. v z

, vStop-bars s, .9',and s2 extend across the Va- 'rions compartments atthe upper edges of x the partitions d to di and have secured to Y theirupper sides felt cushions t to limit the downward movements of the pinse to el and diminish the shock of the blow produced thereby.

so An elastic arm u, preferably of rubber, is

` pivoted` to the front of the frame Eby vthe.

' clamp u in line withl the center of the compartment E, which normallyremains in the pendent position shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6, and

E5 7,-inwhich position it tends to deflect the ball.

to the `right or left if it is struck thereby in any other Way thandirectly in itscenter; but when not" desired it may be turned upwardinto a horizontal position, where it cancj not be struck by the bali, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. The ball afteracting uponl a tripleiler. F,comes incontact with. the cnshionb, lor if it misses the trip-levers Fand falls into the gutter B it comes in contact wth the 3g cushions C,and in either case the rea tion of v said cushions causes the ball to bereturned A to the frontend of the alley. .Wh/en ,the player hascompleted his turn, aproper forward movementof the hand-lever will setup I 4o all of the fallen pins, whether all or only a portion of themare down. f

By the useofmy invention the'services of a man or boy to set up thepinsand return the ballsv` is 4rendered entirely unnecessary which islost while waiting for the pins to'be set up-in the old way. f

That I claim as new, and desireto secure f by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is- 5o l. In a bowlingfalley the combination of theball-rolling surface or alley proper; a chambered frame located abovesaid alley with its' bottom ata distance fromsaid alley somewhat greaterthan the diameter of the ball to be used; a' series of tenpins carriedby said framefwith their lever ends within said chambored frame andtheir main bodies projecting above said frame, and arranged to fall froma nearly perpendicular position to a nearly hori- 6o zontalpo'sitiong'al series ot seven trip-levers pvoted to said 'frame withtheir rear ends normallybelow the bottom of said frame and in closeproximity to each other; and means intervening lbetween said trip-leversand pins whereby an upward movement of the rear end of vone of saidtrip-levers caused by the con- A 45 anda considerable saving in time ismadeg/ tact of the ball therewith willcause one or more of said pins tofall.

2. In a bowling-alley the combination with^ a ball-rolling, surface oralley proper, of a 7o chamhered frame supported above said alley withits bottom at a distance from said ballrollin g surface somewhatgreaterk than the diameter of the ball to bev used; aseri'es of tenpinsarranged in the usual order relative to each other and pivoted to saidframe so as to be movable about said pivotal connection' from anearly-horizontal position toa position slightly inclined to therearfrom a perpendicular position; a series of seven trip-levers pivotedwithin said frame with their rear ends 'projecting below the bottomofsaid frame and in close proximity to' each other so that a ball rolledalong the surface of the alley to the rear end thereof will contact withand raise the rear end'of one or more of said trip-levers; and meansinterposed between'said pins and leverswhereby the passage of a ballbeneath said frame tothe rear of said alley will cause one or more ofsaid pins to fall. j l

3. The combination of a ball-rolling surface or alley; a yseries oftenpins arranged in the usual jorder relative to each other; three dummylevers alternating'with the pins-in the rear-`row, said pins and dummiesbeing permanently mounted upon pivot-al axes a chambered framefor supportin gsaid pins andjdummies, supported above said alley with itsbottom at a distance therefrom somewhat greater than the diameter of theball to be used; a downwardly-projectin g curved springsecured to thelower end ot' each of said tenpins and dummies; a series of seventrip-levers pivoted within said frame with their rear ends "normallyprojecting below the bottom of said /f-rame to a point distant from thealley-surf face less than the diameter of the ball to be used; and anupwardly and forwardly curved spring secured tothe upper surface of thefrear end of each of said trip-levers, with its convex surface in closeproximity to the con- Vex surface of the spring on one of the pins or adummy in such'a manner that when one of said trip-levers is struck byaball and moved about its pivot its spring acting upon the spring on thepin or dummy imparts anl elastic or yielding pressure to said pin ordummy tocause it to fall.

4; The combina-tion in a bowling-alloy, of a ball-rolling surface orlalley; a chambered frame divided into a series of compartments and`supported above said alley-surface with` its under side ata distanceabove said alley somewhat greater than the diameter of the ball'to beused; a series of tenpins pivoted near their lower ends in saidcompartments ywith the greater part-of their lengths projecting abovesaid frame and three dummy levers pivotally mounted on said framebetweenthe pins in therear row; a series of seven trip-1evers pivotallymounted insaid compartments lnormally in an inclined position with theirrear 'ifiv IOO ends projecting below the bottom of said frame to a pointdistant from the alley-surface less than the diameter of the ball to beused and in close proximity to each other; means intervening betweensaid trip-levers and pins and dummies whereby an upward movement of therear end of a trip-lever will cause one or more of said pins and dummiesto fall; and an elastic cushion at the rear end of the alley forautomatically returning the ball to the front end of the alley.

5. The combnation'in a bowling-alley of a ball-rolling surface; apin-supporting frame supported above said surface with its bottom at adistance from said surface somewhat greater than the diameter of theball to be used; the series of pins e, e2, es, e, e5, e, el, es, e9, andel, pivotally mounted in said frame, the three dummies ff and f2pivotally mounted in said frame between the pins e', e2, e3, and e4; thelinks h, h, connecting the lower ends of the dummies f and f2 to thelower ends of the pins e5 and e7 respectively; the links h connectingthe lower ends of the pins e and e3 with the lower ends of the pins eaand e9; the link h2 connecting one of the pair Iof pins e2 e to `the pincw; the links h3 connecting `the lower end of the dummy f to the lowerend of the pin ci; a series of trip-levers pivotally mounted in saidframe one beneath each of the pins c' e? c3 and e and each of thedummies, with their rear ends projecting below the bottom of said frameto; a level distant from said ball-rolling surface less than thediameter of the ball to be used, and niclose proximity to each other;and spring-con tact arms on said trip-levers the pins e' c2 es and e4and the dummies j' j" and f2 all constructed, arranged and operatingsubstantially as described. j

6. The combination in a bowling-alley, of a ball-rolling surface; apin-carrying chambered frame supported above said ball-rolling surface,with its bottom at a distancefrom said surface greater than the diameterof the ball to be used and divided into a series of compartments; aseries of seven triplevers pivotally mounted iu as many of saidcompartments, one in each, in inclined positions with their rear endsprojecting below the bottom of said frame and to a level above saidball-rolling surface a distance less than the diameter of the ball to beused; the tenpins e, c2, c3, e", e, e, e7, ci, e, and el", and thedummies jQjQj' all pivotally mounted in said frame; the curved springsjon said trip-levers; the curved springsj" on the pins e", c2, e, and c",and. the dummies ffandfi; the linlrs 7L connecting the dummy f and thepin e5; the links h, and 71.2 connecting the pins e2, es, and ew; theplate L provided with the upwardly projecting arm L pivotally mountedbeneath the pin ci and dummyfin position to contact with a trip-lever;and rod p set in its front end and projecting from both edges of saidplate into positions to contact with the trip-levers in the nextcompartment on each side of the one in which said plate is mounted allconstructed arranged and operating substantially as described forthepurpose specified.

7. The combination in a bowling-alley, of a ball-rolling surface; apin-carrying chambered frame divided into aseries of compartments andsupported above said surface with its bot- 45' tom suiiiciently removedfrom said surface to permit the passage of the ball between said surfaceand frame; a series of seven trip-levers pivotally mounted in saidcompartments in inclined positions with their rear ends projectingin tothe space between said frame and said ball-rolling surface to a leveldistant from said surface less than the diameter of the ball to be used;the tenpius e', e2, es, e, e, e, e7, es, e, and el, and thedu1nmiesf,f,f2, all pivotal] y mounted in said frame; the curved springsj on said trip-levers; the springs j on said dummies and the pins e e2es and e4; links connecting the dum my f .2 and the pin e7; linksconnecting the pins eil and e9; the pivoted plate L provided with theupwardly-projecting arm L' and the rod p set in its front end andprojecting laterally therefrom as shown, said plate being mounted in thecompartment beneath the'pin e7 and the dummyf2 and adapted to be actedupon by the pin e7 to move it into contact with and vibrate thetrip-lever beneath it and one on each side thereof and thus insure thefalling of the four pins e3 e4 e7 and 'e9 substantially as described.

8. The combina-tion in a bowling-alley of a ball-rolling surface; achambered pin-supporting frame arranged above said surface with itsbottom at a distance therefrom greater than the diameter of the ball tobe used; a series of tenpins c', e2, e3, e, e5, e, e", es, e9, and elo,and the dummies jf f and f2 all pivoted to said frame; a series of seventrip-levers pivotally mounted in said frame beneath the pins e' e363 andet* and said. dummies, with their rear ends projecting below the bottomof said frame into positions to be struck by a bali rolled beneath themon the alley; the springs j secured on said levers; the springs jsecurcdon the pins e', e2, c, and e1; and on the dum-A miesjiffi;the'bentleverJpivotally mounted beneath thepin cil; the two-armedWeighted levers J 3; the rocker-shaft K upon which said levers J and J3aro mounted; and the rod J connecting-the movable ends of said lever J"and the elbow of the lever .l and arranged to bear upon and depress allof said. trip-levers, whenthe pin e falls upon the upper end of theleverJ, and thus cause all of said pins to fall.

9. 'lhe combination in a bowling-alley, of a ballsrolling surface; achambered frame arranged above said surface with its betteln at adistance therefrom greater Vthan the diameter of the ball to be used; aseries of tenpins e', e2, ci, c2c, e, elysa, e?, and ew; and the dummy'levers jij/"f, andfz, all pivctally mounted upon said frame; a linkconnecting the dummy f to the pin ci; links connecting 'ICO the pins e2,es, and elo,- a link connecting the dummy f to the pin e6; a linkconnecting the pin e8 to the pin e9; a link connecting the dummy f2 tothe pin e7; a series of trip-levers F' pivotally mounted in said framebeneath the pins e' e2 es and e* and the dummies f, j',

' and f2, with their rear ends projecting below the bottom of said frameinto positions tobe struck by a ball rolled beneath said frame on saidball-rolling surface or alley; a spring j.

secured tothe rear end of each of said triplevers; a spring j mountedupon each of said rocker-shaft G; a plurality of arms firmly securedupon said shaft the rod k3 connecting the movable ends of said arms in aposition to act upon said dummies and the pins e', e2, es, and e4, orany of them that are in a fallen position to raise them; the lever Gfirmly secured upon the end of said shaft G; the handlever G4 located atthe front end of the alley; and means connecting.,r said hand-lever withthe movable end of the lever G whereby a forward movement of thehand-lever will cause an upward movement of the rod k3 and a consequentraising of all fallen pins.

l0. The combination of a ball rolling or alley'surface; a chamberedframe arranged above said alley-surface with its bottom at a distancetherefrom greater than the diameter of the ball to be used; a series oftenpins and three dummies pivotally mounted in said frame; a series oftrip-levers pivotally mounted in said frame beneath said dummies andwith said trip-T vers to lock them; the rockershaft l2 provided witharms L3 corresponding in number to the plates m; and means foroscillating the shaft Z2 to move said plates m' toward the front andunlock said trip-plates. 11. In a bowling-alley having a series oftenpins pivotally mounted upon a frame raised above the ball-rollingsurface the combination with said pins of trip-levers pivotally mountedin said frame in positions to be struck by the ball when rolled alongsaid snrface means intervening between said levers and pins whereby theupward movement of the rear end of a trip-lever will cause one or 55more of said pins to' fall; and the pendent A elastic arm u pivotallysecured to the front of said frame directly above the centerlongitudinal line of the alley as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 7th day of November, A.D. 1898.

- GEORGE W.' WEMPLE.

Witnesses: l

N. C. LOMBARD, JOHN W. Ronms.

